The Star Locket, by Natalie Jane Prior

Reviewed by Dale Harcombe

The story revolves around one star-shaped locket split into two halves in an attempt to foil the plans of the evil Casimirites. Two identical girls each have a half of the locket. But only one of the girls is real. The other has been created by magic. But which one?

The two girls were separated and raised in different parts of the worlds, but then Sally Taverner comes to Starberg where she sees Estee Merton. It is like looking into a mirror. But how can this be?

Each of the girls is left with same question : Who is this stranger who looks like her?

When Estee and Sally finally meet, they discover the truth about themselves.

‘She is you and you are her….You are the one person who has been magically split in two,’ Anna von Homrigh, leader of the group who opposes Richard Greitz and his occult arts, tells them.

From Anna the girls learn that if the halves of the star shaped locket are joined back together, one of them will cease to exist. But no-one knows which one.

This novel is filled with action, mystery and raises a lot of questions about good and evil, what makes a person human, choices, and how one person’s choice can have far reaching consequences.

‘There is always a choice’ Anna says.

In the end, Estee and Sally make a choice. A choice that will not please everyone, especially Stephen Melhuish, nephew of the British Prime Minister.

Although this is a companion novel to Fireworks and Darkness, readers do not have to have read the first book to appreciate the second.

This is an inventive and thought-provoking fantasy that will appeal to readers aged 11-14.